WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE? – MANAGEMENT AND TEAMWORK WITH AMERICANS

“So if I am managing a group or leading a team of Americans, and want to avoid and prevent the behavior we have seen in the example, what do I do?”

How Americans view foreign management

At this point, you may have found very little that is culturally shocking, new, or even very different to preferred management practices where you come from. That should not surprise us, given the increasingly international language of management. Alternatively, you may have found aspects of the American way that are different from what you are accustomed to, and what you are comfortable with. Whatever differences you may see in this area, it is worth remembering that Americans may perceive you as different, based on their images of and experiences with non-American management. Box 6.5 lists a number of these American perceptions.

Are these perceptions out-of-date? Perhaps. Are they too subjective? Of course. Too negative? Definitely. Americans have positive impressions as well, but those are not the ones that may interfere with your relationship.

But are they wrong? Maybe or maybe not, but these perceptions will influence an American’s expectations of a non-American boss. For that reason alone, if you are managing Americans (or a group that includes Americans) it is important to approach the task thoughtfully, aware of possible differences.

What is the best management style to use with Americans?

As we noted earlier, this will depend on the people and the situation, and you will need to be flexible. We can certainly offer several guidelines, which will be applicable to you according to your background and situation.

• Do not expect in any way to be someone’s boss away from work.
• Do not regard yourself as a kind of “parent”, responsible for or having any obligation regarding an employee’s personal problems.
• Focus on individual performance – goals, objectives, skills – as much as on team performance. Remember, your “direct report” is looking to establish a visible record of specific achievement.
• Do not assume, “They are professionals; they know when they’ve done a good job. I don’t need to tell them.” Many Americans want their work to be noticed by management. You will need to reach a balance between their needs for both recognition and autonomy.
• Be absolutely clear in communicating your requirements and expectations. Americans will expect you to lead as well as manage. They expect new managers from executive level down to supervisory level to want to make changes.
• If you have a different view on why and how meetings should be conducted, then you must be very clear as to what you expect and why. If you want to promote wider participation, greater discussion of problems, or more group consultation, then say so. Explain precisely how you want meetings or tele-conferences (or video-conferences) to be conducted. Americans will accept and support that. Remember – they will make conscious efforts to adopt the behavior needed to get the job done. You’re the manager, and your American team expects you to indicate what you expect.
• Let them know where they stand. Your American direct reports may or may not like you, but they do respect your role, and its impact on their performance and development.

What style of management can I expect from an American boss?

While we cannot make predictions, here are a few things you might find in comparison to what you may be used to:

• “Aggressive” individual targets, in measureable terms. Many of those individual targets will in turn serve as group objectives for your direct reports.
• A fairly wide range of authority delegated to you, both for business decisions in your function, and for hiring (and, yes, firing), training and promoting staff.
• An expectation that you will keep your American boss fully and rapidly informed.

You are, after all, a “direct report”. Your boss wants no surprises, and needs to be able to respond when his boss in turn asks for a report. Two good “rules of thumb” here are: (1) When in doubt, over-inform. (2) When asked for information that you do not have, do not say, “I don’t know.” Say, “I’ll check on that and get back to you.”

• An expectation that you will show that “disagree but commit” spirit that we described earlier.

If you must disagree, offer a better idea. Criticisms should be formulated into specific recommendations for improvement. Another rule of thumb: Never a problem without a solution.

You may have noted that several items on the list of American perceptions have to do with communication. Whether your dealings with Americans are in the role of customer, supplier, manager or team member, your abilities to communicate with them will have the biggest impact on you success. Let us look at the subject in more detail.